Agatha Christie’s The Man in the Brown Suit is a classic whodunnit novel that will have you eagerly reading. I was hooked and was using all of my brain cells to figure out who was the killer. Keep reading for a short summary of the book and why you should give this novel a read!
The Man in the Brown Suit Summary
Nadina is a dancer in Paris who wants to blackmail the “Colonel” a powerful man who commits nefarious crimes. He plans on retiring soon but and put his agents in risk but Nadina has a plan that will jeopardize his plans.
Anne Beddingfeld sees a man fall on the tracks at Hyde Park Corner Tube Station. He is shocked by seeing someone behind Anne and falls as a result. A man in a brown suit claims to be a doctor and checks up on the fallen man and declares him dead. As the man passes by herm a note drops out of his pocket. Anne finds the events that too place to be wrong and dissects them when she gets home.
A woman is found dead at Mill House in Marlow and the man in the brown suit is seen there last before the woman is discovered dead the next day. Who is the man in the brown suit and what is the connection between the two deaths?
Anne decides to pursue the case and finds herself in something much bigger than she expected. Who is the man in the brown suit and who is the Colonel? The note that Anne found is the clue to break the case but can she figure it out before it’s too late?
Book History and Commentary
The novel was received a bit poorly but that was due to the critics wanting more Hercule Poirot. That sounds very childish but it is the 1920’s and the standard was much different. Personally, I liked this novel a lot and preferred the protagonist being a part of the events. The novel does read like a fairy tale at times and I can see why Christie didn’t write many more books like this.
This is one of Christie’s earlier works and the writing style is different than her normal one. I imagine she was finding her footing and was trying different styles and types of stories. In today’s day and age, I would imagine Christie wouldn’t have been as limited as she had been.
Conclusion
It seems like it is almost impossible for Christie to write a bad book. She puts a lot of time and effort into the plot and it shows. I will continue my journey to read all of her books and I have yet to find one book that I didn’t enjoy. Happy reading!